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It’s always darkest ... Sunrise Worcester takes the climate advocacy stage
VEER MUDAMBI
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In less than a year, Sunrise Worcester has swiftly grown “from an organization in limbo,” said Hub Coordinator Andrew Ahern, to a major force in Worcester County’s climate activism scene.
Sunrise Worcester is an organization that almost wasn’t. Formed in early 2019 as a local chapter of the national organization, it only held a few community outreach events before it “fizzled out,” said Hub Coordinator Gwen Weissinger. By the end of 2019, Weissinger and Ahern took the reins of the organization and began to rally a small group of Worcester youth, marking a new dawn for Sunrise Worcester. Momentum was gathering with the first in-person meeting at the beginning of 2020, plans for a major Earth Day event in April, and a revitalized group.
“It was a really wonderful turnout at the first meeting,” said Weissinger, “and the group had been feeling a lot of energy about mobilizing for Earth Day.” Then came COVID.
All that energy crashed into a wall with the lockdown, leaving the organization in a brief period of stagnancy, Weissinger admitted, before it recovered its momentum. The Earth Day prep had linked Sunrise Worcester with other environmental groups, especially at local colleges. Much of this networking had already been online, easing the transition for the group to move forward on local climate action in Worcester as they had originally planned, albeit remotely.
While the Earth Day climate strike was canceled, other aspects of the event were adapted to a virtual forum. “We did a three-day event for Earth Day — education, teach-ins, community buildings and all that type of stuff,” said Ahern. “Ended up having a really good virtual turnout for all three of those days.” Since then, the group has focused on growing membership through online organizing efforts, holding consistent meetings
Sunrise Worcester members Matthew Enriquez and Gwen Weissinger at Crompton Park.
ASHLEY GREEN
and highlighting local initiatives where people can get involved.
“We are really looking to recruit more youth born and raised in Worcester because we believe this work should be spearheaded by and centered around the people who are experiencing climate change firsthand in the city,” said Weissinger.
As the communications coordinator at Worcester State University’s Latino Education Institute and facilitator of its Youth Civics Union, Matthew Enriquez often encourages his students to check out the Sunrise Worcester meetings. “I think they get a lot out of it,” he said. A Worcester native, Enriquez started with Sunrise Boston when he moved to the city for college. In the course of his work for Sunrise Boston, he got in touch with the Worcester arm of Sunrise, along with Ahern and Weissinger, joining up with them when he moved back to Worcester.
The way young people, from teenagers to graduate students, have taken ownership of the climate crisis is what resonated with Ahern as well. “It’s a generational thing,” he said, referring to activists like Greta Thunberg and the founders of the Sunrise Movement, Sara Blazevic and Varshini Prakash. “I very much see it as this is my generation, and the next generation’s, future on the line, which really inspires me and keeps me going.” Taking a job at Mass Audubon in Worcester, where he focuses on climate action and education, Ahern wanted to do more in the larger community and sought out Sunrise Worcester. A mutual acquaintance connected him with Weissinger, newly returned from Colombia.
At the time, Weissinger had just finished college “and was kind of smacked with the fact that climate change is a real thing and it felt futile to go into work that didn’t have to do with our changing climate.” So instead of pursuing a higher degree, she opted to travel in South America.
Upon her return, she decided to get involved in community organizing, where she met Ahern, and set about combating that feeling of futility. “Doing activism with people who are passionate about similar things and also your age in your area has been really helpful with that kind of defeatist mentality that can set in,” said Weissinger. And the best place to start, the two decided, was to reinvigorate Sunrise Worcester.
“I said, let’s do this, we’re not doing anything else, right?” Ahern laughed. “So let’s do it.”
With the group’s renewal, Sunrise Worcester can once again address national issues as they manifest locally, both statewide and the city of Worcester. Where the Sunrise Movement on the whole favors broad goals such as more energy efficiency, more renewables and less fossil fuels, Sunrise Worcester works to see those implemented on a smaller scale. The group advocates for more accessible public transportation such as the ZeroFare initiative, as well as fighting against investing Worcester tax dollars in more fossil fuel infrastructure.
“We know that the city is at least trying to address climate change and sustainability,” said Ahern, referring to the recently unveiled Green Worcester Plan. At the state level, the Massachusetts House and Senate just passed key climate legislation so Sunrise Worcester has been “encouraging people via social media to contact Governor Baker to make him sign that legislation into law.”
Currently, Weissinger works for the Regional Environmental Council, a nonprofit that supports local farmers markets in food insecure neighborhoods. “[Food justice] is a huge nexus” for so many different issues, including climate change, she said. “Being able to produce your own food removes a lot of structural barriers for marginalized communities when it comes to food access.”
What motivated Enriquez as well is that these marginalized communities are often people of color and disproportionately affected by climate change. “The junction between critical race theory and the climate crisis,” as Enriquez put it, is what motivated his start in activism, echoing a larger shift in climate advocacy that produced groups such as the Sunrise Movement. The prevailing viewpoint is that the scope of the climate crisis can no longer be viewed as solely an environmental issue but one of social justice.
“It’s all interconnected,” said Ahern. “We all live under the same atmosphere.” While he admitted the city does a good job of speaking the language of environmental justice, climate advocacy and activism, the city’s approach to the climate crisis lacks a holistic understanding. He feels it doesn’t seem like a priority right now for a variety of reasons. Clearly the pandemic is one of those reasons, but Ahern worries that, “they don’t understand that this is the issue of our times.”
Polar Park to house urban garden for locally sourced produce
VEER MUDAMBI
Sponsorship logos alongside the stadium are almost as big a part of watching professional baseball as hot dogs and singing “Sweet Caroline.” Whether you’re watching from the stands or on TV, the brightly colored logos of the companies partnering with the team will pop up in the corner of your eye.
Polar Park, future home of the Worcester Red Sox (WooSox) will be no different, but Harvard Pilgrim wanted something “more than just a field facing sign,” said Jack Verducci, WooSox VP of Sales.
Accordingly, this past September, Harvard Pilgrim partnered with WooSox to become the team’s official Health and Wellness partner. Verducci said that they were among the first companies to reach out to WooSox after the Polar Park project was announced in 2018.
As a tangible symbol of both organizations’ commitment to wellness in the greater Worcester community, an urban garden for locally sourced produce will be created on the second deck of the third base concourse at Polar Park. WooSox Farms, as it will be called, will make for a very short farm-to-table (or concession stand) pipeline. Produce will also be distributed throughout the community, such as donated to local food banks or sold at farmers markets.
“There will be a wide range of products that can grow onsite,” said Steve Fischer, executive director of the Regional Environmental Council. REC, a nonprofit that supports a number of local farmers markets, has been brought in to maintain WooSox farms. Harvard Pilgrim has been a longtime lead supporter of the REC’s mobile farmers market program, so the two organizations already have a longstanding connection since 2012.
Fischer will act as the project
Polar Park from center field.
consultant, regarding what to grow and when, along with the garden’s actual design. “There won’t be any major restrictions of what can grow during peak growing season,” he said.
The mainstay of WooSox Farms will be greens such as spinach, lettuce, mustard greens, root vegetables and nightshades (tomatoes, eggplants, peppers). Depending on circumstances, these will either be started in greenhouses and then transplanted or seeded directly. The ones actually tending the garden will be members of REC’s YouthGrow program, which employs high school students from low-income neighborhoods in urban agriculture.
Fischer views the WooSox Farms at Polar Park as not only an opportunity to benefit the
CHRISTINE PETERSON
community by growing healthy food for farmers markets but also generating new jobs for inner city youth through YouthGrow.
How the farm’s produce is split between “community and concessions” is still being discussed, said Verducci. “We’re still deciding on the primary purpose.” The answer depends on multiple factors, including how COVID may affect the park’s opening and how that coincides with growing seasons.
“My understanding,” Fischer explained, “is that all the partners are in general agreement that at least a large percentage will be going out into the community through things like donations to area food banks and selling in food insecure communities through the mobile farmers market.”
At the very least, there is a strong intention on the part of all the partners that a significant portion of the food grown will be utilized by the community at large.
While certain aspects may still need to be hammered out, the WooSox, Harvard Pilgrim and REC are committed to making sure WooSox Farms will be ready to open alongside Polar Park. “All parties are committed to having this ready in year one,” said Verducci.
Verducci hastened to add that the current conceptualization for WooSox Farms was “just that, a rendering, and definitely not set in stone — so it’s kind of a microcosm for the whole project.” While the pandemic continues, nothing is certain — but at the moment, he believes Polar Park will remain on schedule for its April 2021 opening date.
The formation of the garden has been well received by the city. City Manager Edward M. Augustus Jr. said in a December press release, this working partnership between Harvard Pilgrim and WooSox demonstrates the many ways corporate entities can contribute to a happier, healthier community. After all, what could be more American than eating something yummy while watching baseball?
Pleasant Pawn Shop owner Asmar Akman sees investment in gold over pawn loans
LIZ FAY
When it comes to business, Asmar Akman says honesty is the best policy. “Stay honest, be straightforward, and don’t ever exaggerate what you can promise,” says Akman, the 42-year-old jeweler and the owner of Pleasant Pawn Shop. “If you say you’re going to do something, you have to do it. Credibility is everything.”
That’s important when you’re in the pawn business, especially under current economic conditions. The pandemic and the largescale job losses that have come with have been a source stress for many Worcester residents.
That stress has brought many to the pawn shop, but not for the reasons Akman thought they would. When the pandemic hit, Akman predicted there would be a jump in people seeking loans, not gold or diamonds, but surprisingly that was not the case.
After the first round of stimulus had been sent out, customers came in looking to invest in items of long-term value over pawning for immediate cash. “When the stimulus checks were distributed, we saw very few loans given out, and contrary, there was a big spike in gold and jewelry sales,” Akman said.
Consequently, demand has caused Akman to increase his gold prices. Still, while that bolstered his business, Akman says it’s important to meet his customers with hospitality and empathy.
“I quickly learned the psychology behind anyone that goes to a pawn shop is always financial, so there’s stress levels involved” said Akman. “People think pawnshops are bad, slimy places, there’s a stigma that comes with this industry. So, I’ve tried to change that stigma in terms of not being slimy, not being rude, and not being judgmental of people. People have problems, you have to understand where they’re coming from. When I opened my store in 2005 I had no
Jewelry designer Asmar Akman holds two of his creations, one of which comprises 400 carats of VS one diamonds and 1 kilo of 14kt gold.
RICK CINCLAIR
inventory, nothing but a sign and a smile.” Akman shared. “I didn’t see profit until probably the seventh year. I didn’t have a car the first five years, I shared a car with my wife. It was very interesting. You sacrifice if you have a dream. It was drive, devotion, and a lot of customer service”.
That attitude hasn’t gone unnoticed: Akman has received five “Best of Worcester” awards from Worcester Magazine over the course of his career — three for the best pawn shop and two for best gold trade. In 2017 he landed a spot in Worcester Business Journal’s “40 under 40.”
Akman learned the ins and outs of the jewelry business from his father, Sabri Akman, a Turkish immigrant who for 40 years owned his own jewelry store, New York Jewelers, previously located at 330 Main St. in Worcester. It was in 2005 while Asmar Akman was working for his father when he stumbled into his purpose.
“I was hanging outside one day and I saw this older gentleman walk up to me, and he goes ‘hey what do you do?’ and I go ‘this is my dad’s store’ and the man goes ‘what do you want to do?’ and I said ‘I don’t know, own a bank.’ He goes ‘you don’t want to own a bank, own a pawn shop.’ So I said ‘why?’ and he goes ‘it’s like a bank but you loan out money on collateral.’ So at first, I didn’t think anything of it but then I came to find out the next day when he came to me, he’s the president of Commerce Bank, Barry Krock.”
Later that year, Akman found a vacant spot where he could open his own pawn shop at 334 Pleasant St., where he eventually attained his title as a master jewelry designer.
“After learning the psychology of the clientele, I said to myself, let me implement jewelry. I’d learned about the jewelry industry from my dad and had contacts on 47th street in Manhattan. So I had the knowledge, but I mostly threw myself into the fire. Then all of a sudden I went into design mode. Every year I kept progressing and learning more about how to be efficient, learned the structural engineering behind how pieces are made properly, and from there I fully took on a design section.”
After working in direct competition with his father for four years, Akman made a business decision that surprised everyone, his father most of all.
“In 2009 I went to my dad and I said, ‘I’m going to buy you out, you’re going to come work for me now.’ And in one weekend I got a couple of trucks and we cleared out his whole store. My mom, Meryem, came too, they worked together for 40 years.”
In addition to high-end custom jewelry designs and pawning services, Akman offers a slew of other services, from repairs and cleanings to appraisals for insurance companies.
“I educate every customer I can. I literally explain to them every number I crunch and what it represents. Dimension, weight, karat, cost per ounce, and labor. That way I can give my customers knowledge, and their best value.”
According to Akman, investing in commodities such as gold and jewelry in the midst of an unfriendly economy will make people money in the long run, depending on one’s willingness to invest in a piece of high value.
“Here’s an example, let’s say five years ago someone bought a necklace that weighed 1,000 grams. That would have cost them $25K, today that same necklace would cost $50K. So now, the value of that necklace is $50K because the price of gold was lower five years ago, and that’s the cycle. Gold, silver and platinum are all based on the world market. As the economy hits troubled times, such as giving out a lot of stimulus money, the value of the dollar goes down and the price of gold is driven up, it’s basic economics. It’s a cycle that’s always repeated itself. So when the price of gold per ounce goes up, that means my vendor’s cost goes up, which means I have to sell jewelry for more money. It’s all based on the price of gold per ounce. I recommend investing in the heaviest piece of gold or diamond because the way to get value out of gold and diamonds is by mass. So, the heavier the piece, you’ll always get the best return with more substance, which means you’ll definitely get more money. If the initial investment is low, return isn’t going to be crazy high. The more you put into an investment early, the more you’re going to get back. Whether it’s in gold or a bigass diamond, you’ll always get your best return on that” Akman said.
Still, while his hard-earned success has finally paid off, making his customers happy is what Asmar Akman enjoys the most.
“The most rewarding part of my work is seeing how much customers love the product. When I design something and the customer says, “I never thought it would look this good,’ that’s the most gratifying part, you can’t beat that,” Akman said.
